hellskitchenfandomcom-20200223-history
Episode 1708 - Welcome to the Jungle
The eighth episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on December 1, 2017. On that episode, cave meat was the main theme, one chef made an unexpected comeback, and while one team had their best dinner service yet, the other had their worst. Intro Back at the dorms, Elise claimed that she was no longer playing nice, and that she was in it to win it, only for Michelle to retort that she herself has been doing that before, and accused the former of coasting through the competition so far. Manda tried to break up the argument, but Elise shut her up as she continued to boast how strong she was, but Michelle argued against that, and called Elise inconsistent. Despite Elise threatening to go after Michelle, the latter said that she was not afraid of her. Team challenge The next day, both teams came downstairs to find Ramsay waiting for them in the back hallway. After asking them if they liked hunting, Ramsay took the teams into the dining room, which has been transformed into a jungle, and he announced the Cave Meat Challenge. Each team would be cooking with three of the earliest kinds of meats eaten by cavemen which were boar, venison, and elk. Van said that the challenge was up his alley as his father owned an arrow shooting ranch, and that all he did with him was hunt for boars. Each team would have to hunt for their ingredients with spears, although Jennifer was a little concerned having Elise hold one after the Cook For Your Life Challenge. Both teams had three minutes collecting their ingredients, with Robyn and Manda being the first from their teams to hunt their ingredients. Michelle did not want to waste any time for her team, and collected lentils, while Nick knew that the difficult thing was to use the ingredients with their proteins. Then, Elise almost stabbed Jennifer with her spear, but had no remorse doing so, and Dana pierced her ingredient too hard, and got her spear stuck in the floor. Eventually, both teams got their ingredients collected, with each spear holding five ingredients each. Both teams had 45 minutes to cook their dishes, and while each team had to pair up on the proteins, Nick was the only person from the blue team to cook with venison. During the cooking, Manda admitted that she never cooked with boar before, and asked if that type of animal had rabies, and in the blue kitchen, Robyn admitted that she never cooked with elk before, before deciding to follow Benjamin’s lead as the latter has been a strong competitor in challenges. In the red kitchen, Sous Chef Christina asked Elise if she has calmed down after the previous night, and she said that she was, before planning on making her dish a statement to Michelle on who the weaker red chef was. Near the end of the challenge, Nick discovered that the convection oven was turned way too hot, while Manda was forced to flash sear her boar as it was still raw. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time. Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo were invited as guest judges, and Michelle recalled how the two came as guest judges back in Season 14. On the first round, Van and Milly from the blue team, and Manda and Jennifer from the red team, presented their boar dishes. Van’s walnut crusted wild boar loin with southern styled braised collier greens was praised for the crust, and having the meat and the collier greens complement each other, while Manda’s boar chop with apple and fennel was criticized for being dry as it was the result of her quick flash sear. Then, Milly’s rosemary boar loin with deep fried Brussel sprouts and bacon jam was criticized for being undercooked and having greasy Brussel sprouts, and Jennifer’s home styled boar dish was praised for the herbs and apples. After a tough decision, Van’s dish won that round, the blue team led 1-0, and he was happy to pull out a W. On the venison round, Nick’s warmed spiced roasted venison with butternut squash puree was praised for tasting as good as it looked, while Dana’s roasted venison with yams and pear puree was criticized for having an underseasoned meat. Then, Elise’s venison with yam puree was praised for not slicing it before as it showed confidence, and even more praised for having a perfectly cooked meat. So, Elise scored that round, the score was tied at one each, and she rubbed her victory in Michelle’s face. On the final round, Robyn and Benjamin, and Michelle and Barbie presented their elk dishes, and Robyn was hoping that her plan worked. Barbie’s pan-roasted elk with chili braised bok choy was praised for being tender, while Benjamin’s Juniper marinated elk loin was criticized for being underseasoned, much to Jennifer’s surprise, before hoping that it was a chance for the red team to win. Then, Michelle’s pan-seared elk with chic pea puree was criticized for being overcooked, and Elise gloated about the former’s failure. Robyn’s elk with chimichurri sauce was the last one to be judged, and it was praised for being simple and nice, a great acidity, and having a wow factor with the chimichurri. After a tough decision between Barbie and Robyn, the judges went with the latter’s dish, and the blue team won the challenge 2-1. Reward The blue team was rewarded with a trip to Hummingbird Nest Ranch, and got sample caviar supplied by Petrossian. While being dismissed, Robyn was happy to have won it for the blue team, and Ramsay welcomed her back after a string of poor performances. During the reward, Nick admitted how far removed he was from fancy compared to the Ranch, and the blue team met up with Alex Ageneau of Petrossian. As they were tasting the caviar, Milly called it creamy, Van said that the former was making love to the caviar, and Benjamin called it the best caviar he has ever tasted in his life. Punishment The red team was punished by participating in Spring Cleaning day, which included clearing the bathrooms and bedrooms of the dorms, and ironing the wait staff’s aprons. While being dismissed, Elise hoped that Ramsay would have sent her with the blue team on their reward as she was the only one that scored a point for the red team, and was disgusted to have to clean pubes out of the showers. Back at the dorms, the red team tried to cheer themselves up by saying that they did a good job, but Elise argued that she was the only one that she scored a point. During the punishment, Dana called the dorms gnarly as they were living with men, and Jennifer disgustingly found two cheeseburgers under Milly’s chef jacket. Later, Michelle wondered if she should talk to Elise, and Barbie suggested sometime before service began, but secretly told Dana that it was not going to end well. Michelle apologies to Elise about nominating the latter over the Cook For Your Life Challenge, but Elise rejected it as she was still angry over being called a non-team player, and that led into another argument between the two. After Elise left, a dismayed Manda hoped that they would get out of dinner service alive. Before service Later that night, both teams began prepping for service, with Benjamin feeling very confident after the blue team’s challenge victory. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen. Dinner service A special caviar Bellini was added to the menu that night. The blue team received their first order, and Milly boasted that he was about to pull out a strong performance on appetizers that night. After, Milly and Robyn got their appetizers accepted, and the former was proud of his accomplishment. In the red kitchen, Elise was struggling to put together the caviar Bellini, and Jennifer came to help her, with the latter commenting the irony of it due to their history back in Season 9, and asked if she had a fever. Then, Marino informed Ramsay that John Rzeznik is at the bar with a party of four, and the latter decided to put him at the red chef’s table. After Ramsay informed the red team about it, Jennifer was star struck, and called him a real celebrity. However, Manda’s slow performance on the lobster tail had Jennifer, Elise, and Dana come to help her, and when Ramsay commented about there being four people at fish, he asked if they would like Rzeznik to join them. Despite that, both teams were pushing out appetizers and entrées, and in the blue kitchen, Ramsay praised Benjamin for presenting a beautiful lamb. After, Benjamin admitted how impressed he was with the entire blue team working together, and Ramsay urged them to keep their momentum going. 50 minutes into service, Dana asked Manda how the pork was doing, but the latter said that she had none firing as she did not hear the order due to the noisy atmosphere. When Manda said that the pork would take 10 minutes due to her forgetfulness, Ramsay decided to salvage a duck breast and a halibut for a two top table. Unfortunately, Barbie’s duck was raw and bloody, and a frustrated Ramsay took the red team into the pantry room along with Sous Chef Christina. There, Ramsay angrily asked the red team what has happened to them, called them out on their meltdown, and told them to start being honest with each other. In the blue kitchen, the blue team continued to push out entrées at a great pace, and Milly compared them to a great symphony, before calling them true All-Stars. In the red kitchen, Michelle sliced the chicken as she proved herself last time on meat, and gave it to Barbie as there was no pink inside it. However, Ramsay showed the red team that the chicken was raw regardless, Elise mocked Michelle for failing to notice that, and Ramsay accused the red team of falling apart since Rzeznik came, before adding on that they were cooking like they have given up. In the blue kitchen, the blue team were close to the end, and Robyn decided to call her teammates “baby”, much to Milly annoyance, and Ramsay lectured her that they were not in a nightclub, before telling her to drop the baby word. In the red kitchen, Barbie wanted to walk with her duck, but Manda said that she needed to let the pork rest, and Ramsay dismayingly asked where the confidence has gone. Dana wanted to have that night turn around for the red team, but then, Barbie and Manda brought up raw duck and raw pork respectively. After, Ramsay called the blue team into the red kitchen, had both teams lined up, and after Milly commented how crazy that season has been, Ramsay showed both teams the raw proteins, before yelling out that the red team received no-stars that night. After calling it the worst service by the red team, Ramsay ordered the blue team to send out their last table, and jump into the red kitchen to salvage the women’s mess, before kicking the red team out of the kitchen. While the red team was going back to the dorms, they were arguing on the way, with Barbie comparing themselves to an angry pimple about to explode. Meanwhile, the blue team went into the red kitchen, and Robyn commented how the blue team was once again finishing up the red team’s service, before wondering who was going home that night. Eventually, the blue team completed the red team’s orders, and Ramsay congratulated them on a job well done in both kitchens. Post-mortem Back at the dorms, Elise called that night a cluster fuck and that there was no team dynamic within the red team, but that led into an argument between the red team until Michelle told them to shut up. Then, Elise said that Manda’s raw pork set the red team back that night, with Michelle adding on to how the latter failed to hear the pork order earlier, and while Manda admitted to her mistakes, she argued that the red team was stronger with her than without her, before calling out Barbie on micromanaging her from the start. However, despite Barbie arguing to Manda why she did not say anything, Elise asked the former what her excuse was over the raw duck. However, Barbie argued that she did not deserve to be nominated as she was working meat the entire night alone, before accusing Michelle of bouncing through service. However, Michelle argued that she was not going to take over Barbie’s work and disrespect her, but Elise argued that she dropped the ball that night over the raw chicken, which the former accepted. Then, while Michelle claimed that she was trying to help both fish and meat that night, Elise continued to accuse the former of skating through service. When Jennifer brought up Elise’s struggles on appetizers, Elise ignored Michelle’s comments by calling out boops, and said that she was ready to vote. Elimination After the red team came downstairs, Ramsay said that he was lost for words, and asked them what happened. Elise said that nobody took control of that night, and once again accused Michelle of running around, but the latter argued that she did not. After, the red team continued to bicker that night over Elise saying certain people were kissing certain people‘s asses that was a hinderance to the team, called Michelle out for celebrating after the challenge and not taking responsibility for the raw chicken, despite doing so earlier, and Dana told Elise that the latter did not like Michelle personally, but the former argued that it was nothing personal. Elise also started throwing Barbie under the bus for always blaming someone else for her mistakes, and saying the duck was raw because no one scored it for her. Barbie also declared that communication is still failing, and when Elise said that only one person was running the station, the former said that that was what they heard during service, but the rest of the red team disagreed. The fighting continued, much to Ramsay and the blue team’s annoyance, and then, Ramsay got them to stop, before commenting on how pathetic their bickering was. After, Jennifer announced Manda as the red team’s first nominee, with Barbie as the second. During their pleas, Ramsay asked Manda if she plateaued, but the latter said that she has not, was a better chef than Barbie as she grew since Season 15, and that she was a fighter. However, Ramsay pointed out to Manda that she said nothing when she was in the weeds that night. Then, Barbie said that she was not done yet, and that she looked out for everybody but herself. In the end, Manda was eliminated as her forgetting the pork order ruined any momentum the red team might have had that night, but before leaving, Ramsay praised her for being a hard worker. During her exit interview, Manda admitted that she never thought it was not the outcome she wanted, and that she still wanted to give her babies a better life. After Manda left, Ramsay reminded the chefs that they each had a one in ten shot at winning the Head Chef position at the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in Caesar’s Palace, and while being dismissed, Barbie commented that despite being nominated again, she survived for another day. Then, Van complained about the red team’s infighting, and called them ratchet red’s again, while Elise said that she did not need any friends from the red team, while believing that she will get new ones when she won. Ramsay's comment: "Manda said she never heard the ticket that sunk her team. Sadly, she's not going to hear her name being called as the winner of Hell's Kitchen either." Category:Episodes Category:All-Stars